Speakers at a seminar on Saturday presented a shocking demand, saying that intelligence agencies of India and Pakistan should interact to address terrorist-related issues which, they considered as the main hurdle in cooperation between the SAARC countries.
The speakers expressed their views on regional cooperation among the SAARC countries organised by South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) to review the developments made during the 17th SAARC declaration.
“India is still under public pressure after the Bombay attacks and I would propose that both the countries should also create interaction between their intelligence agencies to address terrorism issues,” said SAFMA Secretary General Imtiaz Alam. He also stressed the need to build up new trade relations between India and Pakistan as cooperation between both the countries was obligatory to strengthen South Asia. He urged the governments of the two countries to open routes for the masses. “I wish to have breakfast in Delhi, lunch in Kabul and dinner in Lahore, but it will only be possible after mutual understanding among the regional countries,” he said.
Imtiaz Alam said the situation of Afghanistan was serious and there was a great need of regional consensus among the Asian countries on how to tackle the issue. He was of the view that Pakistan, India and Afghanistan could play their crucial role in the stability of the region. “Nothing new was done in SAARC; it was just revision of historical facts,” he said.
Representative of Afghanistan embassy, Rahimullah, criticised the role of Pakistani media, saying people of Afghanistan and Pakistan were paying the heaviest price for terrorism while terrorists were taking advantages of the whole situation, so a new strategy for progress should be made for which the media should play its positive role. He added that people of Afghanistan were suffering owing to intervention of its neighboring countries. “The time of intervention in other countries has passed; now it’s a time to start new chapters towards progress by joint cooperation,” he further said.He warned that there could be no peace and stability in the region without positive role of the media. Other speakers were of the view that no business was possible in the region without free movement of journalists. They were of the view that lack of information among the people of Asian countries was a main issue which does not allow them to move forward for trade.
